HEROES AND GODS
by Dalton Mars
Summary: SEQUEL to THE SECOND CHANCE! Gohan finds out about the threat and a lot more. he comes to know about his Saiyan heritage and how powerful his race is. Help from unknown worlds as the threat is universal. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Previously...**

.

Harry and Hermione finds out about the true nature of Dumbledore and their friend Ron Weasely. During the battle of Hogwarts, Hermione is fatally injured by Ron in the Chamber and finds out that Dumbledore's alive.

Harry is confronted by Malfoy, Goyle and Zabini in the Room of Hidden Things where he finds the diadem. Fortunately he destroys it in the Fyndfire before he is taken back in time and so is Hermione before she can die.

Centuries ahead, at the Lookout, Dende is informed about the situation by King Yamma who has been requested by the souls of James, Lily and Sirius to make Harry and Hermione go back in the past so that they can right out what was wronged. Yamma also informs Dende that the magical world is no more and whatever's left of it has been hidden from the eyes of the Guardian. On the request of Harry's parents and Sirius, Dende sorts out, with the help of Yamma, who it would be who could go back in time with Harry and Hermione to protect and help them. They come on the conclusion that Gohan will be the only one to be able because he had received some magic when Old Kai had awakened his power during the Buu catastrophe.

Gohan agrees when informed and he, Hermione and Harry are taken back in time by a special time turner, with their powers and intelligence unchanged unlike their eleven year old bodies. Harry and Hermione avoid meeting with the Weaselys and meet Gohan on the train and later comes to find out about the real deal why they were back in the past.

They succeed in maintaining a sour relation with Dumbledore and kill Quirrel and the Basilisk with the help of Gohan who later wish Harry's parents back during the Christmas Eve of their second year using the dragon balls.

They break Sirius out of Azkaban and bring him to live with Harry, Gohan, James and Lily in the Gryffindor castle which now belongs to Harry as the Potters are a direct descendant of Gryffindor. Everyone is happily united and is informed about Harry, Gohan and Hermione's time travel which leaves them in shock but they agree to help them.

Dumbledore gets weird dreams about futures where he is seen making plans with Ron and then using imperius on his brother to take his place in the school. He wakes up. He is then taken away by a hooded figure who brings him under its control, unknown to him and relaxes him on the ongoing situation, but letting him know using dreams that Harry, Hermione and Gohan have travelled back in time.

The figure than finds Barty Junior and Wormtail and finds Voldemort's fragile little body which the figure brings to the graveyard where Voldemort is then resurrected using Harry's blood. After Voldemort's resurrection, the hooded figure reveals herself to be his daughter which he will conceive from Bellatrix and will hide her from the rest of the world. She says her name to be Merope and then bleeds Voldemort to death.

Hundreds of miles away, in the Gryffindor castle, at the same late hours, Gohan witnesses Harry's death from excess of bleeding and unbearable pain and some mysterious magic killing all the elves, Harry's parents and Sirius.

As per possessed Sirius' last advice before his death, Gohan quickly goes to Hermione's house where he and Hermione sees her parents' dead bodies after which, Gohan takes her towards a certain direction as the entire Crawley and then the entirety of Earth's population vanishes below him.

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Whis woke up from his short nap when he felt a ki he knew wasn't normal. It felt so much familiar to him. He came out of his room and peeked inside his master's who was in deep sleep. If not for Beerus, who was this new being?

00000

Kami had just finished his small talk with the Supreme Kai and his assistant Kibito when he felt someone approach towards the Lookout. Along with a huge ki, Kami also felt something else coming from the two people who were currently heading towards his way.

A minute later saw two children landing on the tilled floor with one of them a girl who was fainted and in the arms of the boy almost same age as hers. The boy was exceptionally strong. Kami felt both of them to be of pure heart people and visibly relaxed after that. But his doubts weren't over.

Gohan quickly walked over to the Guardian whom he hadn't talked too much in his timeline. He held Hermione tightly in his hands, as he made his way towards him.

Kami readied himself. He knew he felt these two to be good hearted but anything could be deceiving after what had happened an hour ago on Earth.

"Who are you?" Kami asked in his old voice which wasn't as old as Gohan remembered. Kami was young, almost the same age as Piccolo had been when he took Gohan for his first training after his dad and Raditz had been killed. It felt so weird, Gohan seeing this younger version of Kami.

"My name is Gohan Son," Gohan answered confidently, "and I know that you are the Guardian and god of this planet and this place is called the Lookout. If you trust me, I need your assistance."

"For a time traveller, I hardly believe any assistance will be necessary," Kami said.

Gohan didn't flinch or felt shocked. He knew Kami knew him and Hermione to be time travellers. He wasn't the God of Earth just for the name's sake.

"What was your purpose for coming back in time?" Kami asked.

"I was sent here by the future Guardian of earth, centuries ahead of this time. This girl and one of her friend had also accompanied me. I was sent here to help them save the magical world. They knew everything that was going to happen in their world but something went wrong and I don't know what it is. You will soon come to know my father and then me and his friends. I know you are the good side of Piccolo," Gohan said.

Kami's eyes widened at that but he maintained his composure. "You do seem to know a lot about me," he said.

"I know everything I need to in order to gain your trust," Gohan said. "I know you feel my soul to be pure and so as hers as well. So help me. Tell me what is going on down there?"

Kami looked intently at the boy. This boy was strange. Not to mention strong enough to be one of the most powerful beings in this entire universe. And yet there were no bad motives he felt inside this kid. The kid was in control of his gigantic power. That alone was a huge feat to have been accomplished.

He then looked at the girl who had her eyes closed and was in his arms. He could feel the girl had witnessed something too terrible for her balance to remain firm. Her soul was shaken. After all, watching her parents' mercilessly impaled bodies would definitely put a wound in her soul. But she wasn't damaged much, thanks to the boy who held her. This boy had taken her away just in time before she could lose it all.

Gohan could see Kami's hesitation so he used his other shot.

"If you can't, then I think I'll have to ask Supreme Kai."

This was received as a shocking revelation to the Guardian as he looked wide eyed at the young boy.

"You...you know Supreme Kai?" Kami asked.

"I do. He helped me confront Majin Buu," Gohan said. "And I can go to his planet as I know my way there. Sorry for being this way but I think I have this attitude because of my father."

Kami looked more deeply at the boy but could see no trace of evil within him. Also, this boy knew about Supreme Kai and Majin Buu and had just said that he confronted that monster. Though Kami was a Guardian, he himself didn't know what might've happened in the future because time was the only thing that couldn't be controlled. No kidding why the Galactic Patrol was so serious about those who had the capability to travel time. The matter was so serious that it was a universal law not to travel through time but who ever cared for the laws.

"I was just talking to Supreme Kai before your arrival. From your words and your soul, I know you aren't lying at all about your adventures that you have accomplished. It is just way too shocking that you know Supreme Kai and of Majin Buu's existence," Kami said. "As for the question which has brought you here, I am sorry but I will be of no help to you. Even Supreme Kai himself has no idea what is going on down there. None of us have ever felt anything like it. And I am afraid; this new danger is a lot stronger than Majin Buu himself."

"I know that. I have felt Buu's true power before I was killed. But what surprises me is this enemy's ki. The first time I felt it, it felt weird, unlike those of wizards or other mortals. This is what's bothering me."

"Gohan," Kami said, mentioning Gohan's name for the first time, "this danger is nothing like other mortals or Majin Buu as I have been told and felt. This is an entity."

"What's an entity?" Gohan asked.

"The power of creation and destruction. An entity is neither an immortal nor a mortal. It can be killed or destroyed but it will remain forever on its own. Whatever it is that has the planet in this condition, I am afraid it can't be stopped," Kami said.

Gohan felt helpless. He related the ki he had felt of this power with these words of Kami and now it made sense. Gohan did sense a source of immortality in that ki but it was different from what he had felt in Garlic Junior's, an immortal and now a weak opponent of Gohan.

"If you like, I can see to the girl in your arms," Kami said, breaking Gohan's train of thoughts.

"Thank you," Gohan said with a smile. He trusted Kami. But unlike others, he trusted him less than Piccolo but he knew Piccolo wasn't in his right mind at the moment and was trapped. He handed Hermione to Kami who floated her in the air and then she vanished.

"She is now being taken care by Mr Popo. I assume you know my assistant?" Kami asked with a smile. Gohan nodded silently, still looking where Hermione was floating a moment ago. He knew she was inside the palace. He could feel her ki after all that ki disturbances below him on the earth. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to hear your story. Please tell me about your timeline. That way, you will get better help from me."

00000

Hermione woke up with a gasp. She found herself in a large luxurious room and on a soft large bed. Her clothes had been changed to a more comfortable ones and she held her hands close to her chest when she realised someone had changed her clothes while she was asleep. Still looking around the room, she realised the room was even grander than the Gryffindor castle.

But where was she?

Her thoughts came to an end when she realise someone opened the door to her room. She quickly laid back and pretended to be asleep, with one of her eyes faintly open enough for her to see this new comer. She suppressed her squeal of shock and fear when she saw a pitch black man in an Arabian fashion of clothes coming towards her bed with a tray which had a glass of water and something she couldn't see. The man was short like Flitwick and round like Hagrid. He wore a sleeveless red jacket which had no buttons with a white turban and his lowers was like she had seen the Indian people wear.

"Please don't pretend to sleep, Hermione. I know you are awake. You don't need to be scared of me," the man said in a surprisingly calm and cared voice.

Hermione, however, kept pretending to be in deep sleep, all the while, trembling inside the blanket with fear.

"There is nothing to fear, Hermione. But since you are, I think I should call Gohan. You would feel better with him," the man said and kept the tray on the side table and left the room.

Hermione sat up again and searched for her wand which she found on the side table, cleanly kept on a white cloth. She quickly grabbed it and clutched it tightly in her hand when the door to her room opened again. She took out her wand from under the blanket with the killing curse on her lips. She just needed to say that last word and the intruder would be dead. She had seen her parents' dead and was nowhere near to be called fine. She had had it all.

A hand became visible first and then a foot before Hermione said the last word.

"Kadavra!" she said loudly, her eyes closed as a sickly green spell came out of her wand and headed straight for the intruder before a loud bang forced her to open her eyes.

A large metal disk was now standing between her and the intruder with a small dent on its surface. Before Hermione could think anything, the disk vanished, revealing Gohan on the other side with a tall green man with antennas on his head and a wooden cane in his hand.

With trembling hands, she dropped her wand before Gohan ran towards her and held her tightly as she started babbling sorry with teary eyes.

"Its okay, Hermione. You did what you felt was best for your security," Gohan said, consoling her in his arms.

"I...I almost killed you!" she said between sobs.

"But you didn't. Stop crying, Hermione. Please."

"I...I'm so sca..scared, Gohan," Hermione said, clutching him tighter than ever.

"It is okay, Hermione," came a calm voice behind Gohan.

Hermione looked up from Gohan's shoulder to see the green man standing there with a smile. She could see this green person was in tension and was managing his smile somehow.

"Who...who's he, Gohan? She asked quietly.

Gohan broke the hug and looked in her eyes deeply. He used the technique he had developed after Piccolo had taught him to read minds and mentally made Hermione calm down. She did and felt a bit relieved.

"Hermione, this is Kami, the Guardian of Earth," Gohan said. "You don't need to fear him at all."

"Who...who was that black person?" Hermione asked as she looked at the Guardian who gave out a small chuckle when he heard her question.

"Sorry for scaring you, Hermione. His name is Popo and he is my assistant. He is a good hearted assistant. People always get a wrong idea looking at him for the first time. If not for him, I am afraid I won't be able to be a guardian as good as I am now," Kami said. "I believe he left you something?"

Hermione followed his eyes and looked at the tray that round man had left in the room a couple minutes ago. It had a glass of water and a small green bean.

"That's a senzu bean, Hermione. Eat it, you will feel better. It's a bit hard to chew but it will make you feel alive once more. You are quiet tired right now," Gohan said.

Seeing Gohan's trusty eyes, Hermione nodded silently and picked up the bean and put it in her mouth before her teeth began crushing it. Gohan was right. The bean was real hard to chew so after chewing it for three to five times, Hermione used the water to gulp it down. No sooner had she swallowed, she felt as if a dam of power broke inside her. She felt good.

Gohan smiled at her wide eyed look.

"The bean is equivalent to ten days worth of meal energy. We often use it to replenish our lost strength during a fight," Gohan said, keeping up his smile which only went on to be wider.

"How do you grow these?" she asked.

"We don't. Only the Guardian is passed on the knowledge on how to grow these which he gives on to his other assistants who live below the Lookout. His name is Korin and he is the one who grows these beans," Gohan said.

"I am sorry for being scared of your assistant, Mr Guardian," Hermione said with apology.

Kami just waved it away. "Don't be. Popo didn't mind it at all. And please, call me Kami."

Hermione smiled at that. "So this is the Lookout?" she asked Gohan.

"Yes. This is where I met you and Harry before we came back in the past. I would love to show you around but I think there's something you need to know," Gohan said.

Hermione went grim. "You want to tell me about Harry and my parents' death?" she asked.

"No. Not only that. We have a problem, Hermione," Gohan said.

00000

She could not shake away the feeling she was getting as she and Gohan hovered over the destroyed cities below them. It looked like some nuclear explosion had taken them all out. She could see battered, bloodied bodies- some without heads, hands or half the body itself.

Nothing was left.

She held him tightly as they disappeared and then appeared right in front of where the Gryffindor Castle used to stand. Now it was in ruins. Gohan didn't want her to go in and she agreed to that as well. But she wanted to see Hogwarts.

Just as the Gryffindor Castle, Hogwarts was in ruins. But unlike before, they both went in. The wards no longer stood. The entrance gate was broken and its metal was bent away like thin wires.

Hermione felt as if she was re-living those ugly days back when she was indulged in the battle of Hogwarts. The only difference was that...this was worse.

When they entered the castle, Hermione could take it no longer when she first saw the truth in front of her. A first year girl was impaled on an iron rod right above from where the first years and other students entered the castle. The girl was torn off her clothes and her eyes were wide open with dried tear marks on her cheeks.

"Luna!" she whispered as she looked at her impaled body on the door above.

Gohan held her tightly, preventing her from going down. He knew how she was feeling. He cursed himself for not being able to help them. But what chance could he have? The amount of power he had felt was indescribable. He wouldn't even be able to face that power for even a second.

"Gohan, please," Hermione quavered as she said those words.

Gohan looked at her and nodded. He then let go off her and rose up in the air. Holding Luna's now cold and stiff body, he tried not to pull her out with a sudden move. He gently pulled her body towards him, taking it out of the bloodied rod and then descended down.

Hermione already had a conjured robe which she then wrapped protectively around the girl's lifeless body. Her tears never stopped as she wrapped it around Luna. Gohan held her firmly, providing emotional as well as physical support to her all the while as she paid her final respect to the blond girl.

Inside was a lot worse. Scattered were the bodies of professors, students and several other peoples. Aurors. Hermione recognised them from their robes.

"Looks like this destruction was slow than the one in the muggle world," she whispered, her voice still quavering with shock and fear.

"We can go, if you like?" Gohan said.

"No! Let me face it!" Hermione said and Gohan nodded.

Walking through the carpet of the dead, Hermione stopped still near one particular body and her face went from scared to angry. Gohan didn't stop her when she, with all her might and strength, kicked hard in Ron's groin as tears fell from her eyes finally like water from a broken dam and she gave in and fell in Gohan's arms who caught her just before she hit the ground.

He needed no words from her. Be that for or against her wish, Gohan held her and then vanished away.

She didn't need to see it.

00000

The Oracle Fish flew around the room with worried and tensioned look on its face. It stopped when Whis entered the room.

"Master Whis! Did I disturb you?" the Oracle Fish asked in a slight fear.

"No, no. I just woke up a few hours ago," Whis said with his familiar smile on his face. He was just the opposite of Beerus. Thanks to him only, Beerus could be controlled when he went out on a rampage which definitely would happen. "You look worried," Whis asked suddenly.

The Oracle Fish stopped floating as it turned and looked at the blue skinned, white haired god with a floating ring around his neck.

"I...I think what I am going to say now might not be liked by Lord Beerus, Master Whis," the fish said.

"A prophecy?" Whis asked. "For Lord Beerus?"

The Oracle Fish just nodded its head, its eyes down, looking on the floor.

"I just had a vision. When do you think he will wake up? The first thing he asks after he wakes up is for me. I need to be ready with the way I must represent my answer to him. I don't want to make him angry," the Oracle Fish said.

"You do know he acts a bit childish, right? Even though he is a god of Destruction, Lord Beerus is good from his heart. He just has his own way of seeing good in others," Whis said with a smiling face. "Is it related to what we are feeling currently from a planet called Earth?" this time he had no smile on his face and he looked even more dangerous than Beerus himself.

"Not directly. I know you also sensed the complications that are coming from that planet. We have never actually dealt with something like that, Master Whis. And I am afraid that what I am about to tell you isn't actually a prophecy in a way."

00000

Returning back on the Lookout, Gohan and Hermione were served some food by Mr Popo. Gohan and Hermione both thanked him for that and ate heartily. They never realized they were that hungry. Mr Popo and Kami were simply amazed at the amount of food Gohan could eat.

"Did you see what it is, down there?" Kami asked once their eating was done with.

"It is ugly. It felt like we were going through hell itself. Also, that dark ki which I felt was covering every part of the planet," Gohan said. "Also, would you be able to look up on Hermione? She just saw the worst sights of her life."

Kami nodded and called Popo who then took Hermione inside the palace.

"Is there something you want to speak about, Gohan?" Kami asked.

"I failed, Kami. I failed huge. I never realised something this terrible would be happening," Gohan said. "Even the Dragon Balls are gone. Nothing's left."

"I don't know about your first question, Gohan. But as per your story, you told me you and your father along with two other friends of his went over to my home planet to wish others back, including my other half, Piccolo. And I can create the dragon balls as it was but it would take not less than five years at least because I will have to create new balls out of nowhere. As per whether you failed or not, I think you did your best under these circumstances. So you don't need to feel sorry for what happened. Think of ahead. Think of what you are going to do. Think of how you are going to help your last remaining friend inside the palace. Think of how you are going to face this new enemy. I will provide with all the help I can. This planet is under my protection after all," Kami said.

"You know, you just sounded like Piccolo for a moment," Gohan said with a smile. He so desperately wanted his father and Piccolo here at the moment. They would definitely figure out something. Using the Namekian Dragon Balls would not prove to be helpful right now because there were high chances as to whatever or whoever this new enemy was, it would certainly bring the devastation again and this time Gohan and Hermione would not be so lucky. Also, the Dragon Balls couldn't make people travel through time and space so he could not wish for his father and Piccolo to be here. He never felt this alone, this helpless. Net even when his father had died during the Cell Games and he had to wait for him, along with others for seven years before he could see Goku again.

"Maybe you should go inside, Gohan. I think some rest will help you and your friend might need you as well."

Kami's words brought him out of his dream world and he looked up at the kind Guardian. Looking at that face, Gohan wished more for Piccolo to be here. He had to admit that Piccolo was there for him even more than his own father. His first teacher never let him miss his dad. Those late night talks and trainings in those woods and forests with him, those were one of the best times in Gohan's life before he started going to high school.

Thanking the Guardian once again for him letting them stay at the Lookout, Gohan headed towards the palace.

He found Hermione asleep on the bed in one of the rooms. He quietly got in and closed the door as quietly as possible. He walked over to her side. She looked so peaceful while asleep but her mind was just the opposite- sharp like a blade and faster than, maybe, his instant transmission.

He brushed her hair to the side so he could see her face. She was sleeping soundly. But he knew she would likely to be mourning over once again after she wakes up.

"I am sorry, Hermione. I failed to protect us all," Gohan said with a whisper, careful enough not to wake her up. "If you can, please forgive me. I let us all down."

"It is not your fault, you know."

Gohan turned to look at Mr Popo standing at the door of the room.

"It is, Mr Popo. I promised his parents, Harry's parents that I would protect him and Hermione. And now he's dead and so could've been Hermione as well..."

"But she is fine. You saved her, Gohan. You did," Popo said.

"But Harry..." he stopped as his voice went quavering.

"If you would've known what was happening to him, we are sure you would've found a way to save him as well. You did a marvellous job saving her, Gohan. You didn't wait and mourn over Harry's death. You rushed for her as soon as you were warned. That quickness and concern of yours is the only reason your other friend is alive," Popo said.

"What can I do, Mr Popo? I have never felt this helpless since the Cell Games. I have no one here who would help me with this situation. I don't even know the enemy! How am I ever gonna find him and defeat him?" Gohan said. Popo could clearly see those two drops of tears that could fall out of Gohan's eyes any moment. He could feel the struggling the boy was going through inside of him.

"You wait, Gohan," Popo said. "Let your enemy come to you so you can see who it is. Then you prepare yourself according to that."

"But what if I not make it?" Gohan asked.

"You will make it out of there, Gohan."

Gohan looked up from Popo to Kami who just entered the door.

"How can you say that for sure?" Gohan asked.

"Because you will train yourself. Earth might still be contaminated from that dark ki, but I can feel its source is no longer on the planet. You have an entire planet for your training. So prepare yourself. You are our only hope in destroying this enemy, Gohan, because you are the only one strong enough."

"But...but what if I..."

"Failure is a part of one's life, Gohan. If you fail, you stand up and fight again. Failure gives you more experience as to how to face your problems. Don't take your failure as your life's finality. It is just helping you to get stronger, son. So accept it with grace and prepare yourself harder," Kami said.

Gohan felt good at that.

"And Mr Popo knows all about magic and spells. His experience is gained from him assisting the former Guardians. I hope he will not mind teaching Hermione some duelling?" Kami asked as he looked at Popo whose smile just got bigger.

"I would love to," Popo said in his deep happy voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Days turned to weeks and then months. Gohan and Hermione now started living on the Lookout because there was nowhere else to go.

The Earth had been shredded to pieces. Whatever was left on the 'blue ball' now were ruins. Ruins of buildings, civilizations, cities and a large spread of rotting bodies of the life of the planet.

Hermione had learned to cope up with herself. She knew they couldn't go back unless they had completed their mission. And it was all up to Gohan now since Voldemort and Dumbledore were dead, along with the rest of the death eaters.

00000

A sunny winter morning brought a little relief on their faces as Hermione and Gohan sat on the edge of the Lookout, looking at the sky. The blue infinity with white, fluffy patches lessened their worries a little but not much.

"How is it going?" Gohan asked.

"Mr Popo is really great. He knows all about magic and spells. While you are busy exploring down there, he is teaching me new ways to duel, too. He also taught me some martial arts. It's...it's, uh, still needs a lot of practice but as he said, when I combined it with my duelling style, it really helps with the dodging and defence. But I am not that good at it," Hermione said.

"Ha! Don't be sad, Hermione. I know no matter on which level you are, you are still going to be a better martial artist than Yamcha," Gohan said.

"Who's Yamcha?" Hermione asked.

"He's just one of the friends to my dad. He was a con before but now he's a good man. But he knows nothing about martial arts," Gohan said.

"So what you said wasn't a compliment?" Hermione said.

Gohan went still for a moment before he turned to look at her. Hermione was suppressing her laugh.

"You are too cute when you look scared, Gohan," Hermione said. She then went still. "So no leads on what is going on?"

"No," Gohan said with a sad face. "Not even Kami himself is able to detect where this thing is. He and I both know whatever it is, is down there," he said looking at the Earth, "but we can't actually pin point its exact location."

"We will reach to it, Gohan. And we will fight it with whatever we have," Hermione said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"No. You haven't sensed its power, Hermione. It's unimaginable. Not even Buu's power comes any close to this and I couldn't even beat Buu..."

"What?" Hermione asked. "Gohan, wait!" she got up and ran after him, towards the palace.

Mr Popo was coming out of the palace with a watering can to water his plants when he saw the two kids running towards him.

"Oh, my! Gohan, what happened?" he asked.

"Mr Popo, I need to talk to you. Is there a possible way for a mortal, living person to go on King Kai's planet?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, there is. But it will take one at least a year to get there and I don't think King Yamma will let you pass through the gate the first thing," Popo said.

"Don't worry about that. If you see Kami, tell him where we went. We will see you in a couple of days, if we are lucky," Gohan said.

Popo just stood there as he saw Gohan taking a confused Hermione's hand and then vanishing away.

00000

The two teenagers appeared in the air, above a hoard of yellow clouds. Just below them was a small, green sphere which resembled a ridiculously small model of a planet. It had a dome shaped house, a tree and a shining red classic car with a road which also looked like the planet's circumference.

"I think this is the place," Gohan said.

"Where are we, Gohan?" Hermione asked as she clutched him around his waist to prevent herself from falling when she felt a pulling sensation all over her. "Why am I feeling really heavy?" she asked.

"Maybe it's because of the gravity. I remember dad telling me where he got his gravity training idea from," Gohan said. "Hermione, we are at King Kai's planet. I will tell you everything but first let's meet him."

Hermione only nodded as Gohan descended down, towards the planet. They both touched the ground seconds later and as soon as Hermione let go of Gohan, she fell hard on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Gohan asked as he hurriedly picked her up.

"I...I can't even stand here. I feel so heavy...it's...it's like I weigh a ton!" she said.

"Ha, ha, ha! You hear that Bubbles? She said she weighs a ton!"

Both teens turned to look at a short, round blue man laughing hard and sometimes suppressing it with both his hands on his mouth. He wore black sunglasses and had black antennas with his head portion black as well. Beside him sat a monkey, much unlike other monkeys. It looked a bit healthier and muscular but with the same size.

"Um, excuse me," Gohan called. "Are you King Kai?"

The man stopped laughing at once and looked up at the raven haired boy who had just landed on his planet with a fragile looking girl. She was an earthling but the boy looked a bit different.

"You bet I am. How did you get here, kid?" King Kai asked, still looking at the boy when he suddenly felt his real power and his eyes widened. "Who...Who are you?" he asked.

Gohan knew King Kai had sensed his power so he descended it as low as he could.

"King Kai, my name is Gohan Son and this is my friend Hermione Granger. We are both from Earth and have come to train under you," Gohan said.

'Train!?' Hermione thought with surprise but Gohan calmed her down mentally.

"Well, of course you have come to train with me, boy. But I see no halo on your head and neither on the head of this girl. And as far as I remember, no mortal has ever made it to my planet before. And tell me the truth, are you really human? Because as far as my area of governance is concerned, I know earthlings aren't this powerful. So who are you?" King Kai asked.

"King Kai, I will not hide anything from you. We both have travelled back in time using a time turner given by King Yamma himself. I guess, you would've known by now what has happened to our planet?" Gohan asked.

King Kai shivered as he recalled what he had felt from the planet. It had set the entire Kai world to chaos. They hadn't felt this kind of power since...since...

"King Kai?"

He came out of his dream world when Gohan called him again.

"I...I am so sorry for what happened to your planet. I assume you two are the only ones alive?" King Kai asked. Gohan nodded and so did Hermione. "Were you able to save the Dragon Balls?"

"No, King Kai. But Kami has said that he would make it soon," Gohan said.

"But not before at least a year, if you guys are lucky, right? You mentioned time travel? How do you know me, then? Do we meet in the future?" King Kai asked.

"No. Actually you train my father after he dies fighting his brother and come to you. This will not happen for a couple centuries but the time will come. My father's name is Goku and he's a Saiyan," Gohan said.

"I should've known that!" King Kai said all of a sudden. "That kind of power I felt from you, I should've known you are a Saiyan. But you do have traces of a human ki as well."

"That's because I am half Saiyan. My mother is an earthling. King Kai, I really need you to teach me the Kaio Kane technique. Also, teach me the Spirit Bomb as well. Those are the only two things I need to learn from you," Gohan said.

"Hmm. So you know about the sacred art of Kaio Kane, huh? Fine! But don't think this will help you defeat this new enemy. From what we Kais can say, whoever this is, he is only focussed on your planet," King Kai said.

"I also heard you thinking about some other guy from whom you felt a similar ki like the one on my planet," Gohan said.

King Kai jumped back from shock and quickly rose up his mental wall. If this boy could read a Kai's thoughts, nothing less must be expected from him.

"Who is the other guy, King Kai?" Gohan asked.

He saw the persistent look in the boy's eyes and had to give in.

"I suppose you know whatever this threat is, on your planet, it is not a mortal?" King Kai asked and Gohan and Hermione nodded. "This threat has worried all the other Kais as well. We have not felt that kind of a power since two centuries ago when Lord Beerus woke up from his sleep."

"Lord Beerus?" Hermione asked. Her voice had become a bit ragged due to the heavy gravity.

"He is a god, a divine being, a much, much higher being than the Old Kai himself. Just like the Kais are given the job to create planets, Lord Beerus' job is to destroy," King Kai said.

"That's horrible!" Hermione said.

"It is but it is important for the existence of all," King Kai said.

"Why? How can destroying planets help in other's existence?" Gohan asked.

"By keeping balance, of course. Balance is the most important thing that keeps everything running, Gohan. Believe it or not, but the universe also has its limits and in order to maintain it, Lord Beerus' presence is required heavily. But..."

"But what?" Gohan asked.

"Lord Beerus acts more like a small child. When he wakes up, he roams around the universe and if some beings of some planets make him angry, he destroys that planet itself. That's the very reason we all fear from him. He is the most strongest in the universe. There's no one even as close as a tenth of his power," King Kai said. "My planet wasn't this small always. He once visited me and asked me to play hide and seek with him. I reluctantly agreed and he lost the game. Out of anger, he destroyed my entire planet. I somehow managed to find a large chunk of it and shaped it for months before I started living on it."

"That's more like a gun in a child's hand," Hermione muttered.

"So, can't Supreme Kai help us?" Gohan asked.

"How do you know Supreme Kai?" King Kai asked out of surprise.

"Well, um, he and the Old Kai helped me fight Majin Buu," Gohan said sheepishly.

"You fought Majin Buu!" King Kai asked in a shocked state.

"Actually, my dad defeated him. He used your spirit bomb technique and borrowed all of Earth's power and defeated him," Gohan said.

"Your...Your father defeated Majin Buu?"King Kai was still shocked.

"Yes. He is a remarkable man. And I want to be like him and defeat this new threat. If I fail, Hermione and I will remain stuck in this timeline and there will be no future for either of us in our own timelines, King Kai. Please train me," Gohan said.

"I don't think training you will bring out any large difference. From what I can sense, your power is nothing in front of this threat," King Kai said. "And you said you were helped by Old Kai?"

"He was trapped inside the Z Sword and came out of it when the sword broke," Gohan said. "He was the only reason I was able to stand up to Buu."

King Kai remained silent, thinking about something. Gohan didn't try read his mind because he thought it to be irrespective so he looked at Hermione whose face had gone tired. He quickly realised it.

"Um, King Kai, would it be possible for you to do something about the gravity of this place? Hermione is complete human and she is not feeling good in this gravity," Gohan said.

"Huh? Oh, alright," King Kai said, coming out of his dream world and waved his hand.

Hermione felt almost weightless for a moment before she felt normal again. She took in some large breathes before she calmed down completely. Once sure she was okay, Gohan looked at King Kai who was still thinking of something.

"I think we should ask Supreme Kai himself. He will come up with the solution to this problem. I can teach you the Kaio Kane and Spirit Bomb techniques as well," King Kai said.

"Great," Gohan said out of happiness. "Let's go to the Kai planet."

"Whoa! Whoa! You can't simply just go there. It takes years to reach there and also, not everyone can just barge in. Only a Kai can go there and that too, when he has been invited," King Kai said.

"Is that so? But my dad just went there in my timeline. Come on, it will be fun," Gohan said and caught King Kai's hand before the short man could say or do something and the three disappeared from there.

00000

Whis rose up from his chair, his staff in his hand. He tapped it once on the floor and Beerus' sleeping figure appeared before his eyes.

"Hm, looks like Lord Beerus is still sleeping. It's not time for him to wake up, it looks like. I guess I will just go and see to it then," Whis said to himself and flew towards the nova sky which surrounded the place which looked like an inverted pyramid.

00000

King Kai couldn't believe when he recognised the land below his feet. He then looked up at the boy who was smiling down at him.

"This...This can't be real!" he muttered.

"We are here, King Kai. The planet Kai," Gohan said.

"How...How did you get here? And so fast?" King Kai was in shock.

"I used the instant transmission technique," Gohan said.

"The technique of the people of Yardreck?" King Kai asked and Gohan nodded in yes.

"They taught my father after he defeated Frieza and then he taught me when I trained under him," Gohan said.

"Your dad defeated Frieza?" King Kai was getting shock after shock as he heard this boy's words. Never could he have ever imagined a Saiyan would be that powerful enough to defeat Frieza, not to forget Buu.

Suddenly Gohan felt a familiar ki and a smile came up on his face as he turned. Facing him stood Kibito. He hadn't changed at all and he looked as angry and surprised as when Gohan had pulled out the Z sword in front of him.

"Who are you, mortal? And how did you two get here? King Kai, what is the meaning of this?" Kibito asked with anger.

"I...I didn't bring them here, Kibito Kai. The boy brought me and the girl here!" King Kai squeaked.

"Kibito, my name is Gohan Son and this is Hermione Granger. We are here to see the Supreme Kai," Gohan said.

"No mortal can just barge on this planet. Reveal your true self boy or prepare to die!" Kibito growled.

"I am not looking for any quarrels, Kibito. You are gonna have to trust me," Gohan said.

"They have travelled back in time and Gohan says that he knew you and Supreme Kai in his timeline," King Kai said quickly, preventing anything bad from happening.

Kibito's eyes widened for a bit before he closed it for a moment and then opened it again. He looked at both the mortals with interest.

"Hm, so both of you are from different timelines. Gohan Son, if what you say is true, I don't know about it or your true intentions but I feel a good heart inside you and this girl. Tell me, what is it that you need from Supreme Kai?" Kibito asked.

"I am actually here to get the Old Kai out of the Z Sword," Gohan said.

"You...You know about the Z Sword?" Kibito asked.

"Yes. I was the one to pull it out when Majin Buu was reckoning my planet. Supreme Kai and you had come to my planet, planet Earth to stop Babidi from unleashing Buu but we all failed and he was out. Supreme Kai and you brought me here as a plan for awakening my sleeping powers by giving me a chance at the Z Sword. I pulled it out and practiced from it until the Old Kai came out of it," Gohan said.

Kibito listened with interest, unaware that Supreme Kai was now standing at a good distance from them all and listening to the conversation. Once Gohan had stopped talking, he made himself visible.

"Gohan, it is good to see you again," Supreme Kai said as he walked towards the small group of four. "Greetings to you, too, North Kai and young lady."

"You know me, Supreme Kai?" Gohan asked.

"OF course. Wouldn't help me being a Kai if I can't. I was expecting you to be here today. But first, I would like to see what you and I had exchanged in your timeline. If you will?" Supreme Kai asked as he raised his right hand.

Gohan knew what this meant and quickly went over to the young looking Kai, Hermione following him closely. She didn't feel comfortable in this world. Gohan was taking her to weird places that were even weirder than the magical world.

Supreme Kai placed his raised hand on Gohan's head and closed his eyes. For the next ten minutes, no one spoke. They all stood silent and like statues in their respective places. While King Kai and Hermione kept looking intently at Gohan and Supreme Kai, Kibito shifted glances from Hermione, to Gohan to King Kai. As usual, he was confused as to how the people, one of them a Kai himself, had managed o come on this planet.

"That was quiet a lot, Gohan," Supreme Kai said as he opened his eyes and removed his hand from his head. "I never expected you to be powerful enough to be at par with Majin Buu."

"He was at par with Buu!?" Kibito asked in shock.

"Yes, Kibito. Also, Gohan pulled out the Z Sword. I think that is why you are here, right Gohan? You have some questions for the Old Kai," Supreme Kai asked.

Gohan nodded sheepishly.

"I know about the threat on your planet, Gohan. And I am really sorry for your losses. I know how hard it is to lose someone who is near to you," Supreme Kai said. "Unfortunately, I don't think even Old Kai would be able to help you on this one but I can't be sure of that. You know, since he had awakened your powers, I can feel his traces inside you, Gohan. Come on, let me show you where the Sword is. I know you know your way, but let's all go together."

"But master, is this okay? What if this boy is a liar and.."

"If he would be, we both would've known it a long time ago, Kibito," Supreme Kai said.

"Yes Master," Kibito said and hung his head before they all rose up in the air and started heading towards the direction of the sword. Gohan held Hermione tightly while King Kai was on something which looked more like a scooter.

"Where did you get that?" Gohan asked.

"Oh, I keep one with myself for situations like this. The Quadrant Kais can't fly on their own, Gohan. We get that ability when we are promoted," King Kai said.

For the next twenty minutes, they all kept flying at normal speed. Gohan was at the back, behind King Kai while Kibito was flying with Supreme Kai in the front.

"I do not understand any of this, Gohan. I don't think I will be able to help you out on this," Hermione spoke softly.

"What's bothering you, Hermione?" Gohan asked cautiously. He had to be sure not to hurt Hermione in any way. He didn't know why he felt that but he did.

"All this. None of this is making sense to me. The entities, kais, god of destruction. All of this is just too much!" she said in a tired tone which was a clear indication of her frustration.

"It felt the same to me as well. Not the god part. That is something new to me, too. I was five when Piccolo took me away from my mother after my father died, saving us all from his crazy brother. I was left in the wilderness, on my own, to survive for six months. And then he trained me and I came to know my potential. Well, not all of it, but whatever it was, I knew I could never have found it if I stayed at home, grieving for the loss of my father. It was nothing less than a shock when we all came to know that my father was actually an alien. I know how you feel and trust me; if you can't understand it, don't feel down at all. You would still be the brightest witch of your age," Gohan said.

Those words brought a little smile on Hermione's face as she clutched him tighter. Gohan smiled to himself a little as he felt Hermione's arms tighten around his waist.

They reached the place and Hermione and King Kai saw it for the first time. It was a tall tower of rocks, looking more like a hill tower with a sword pierced on top of it. It was inside the rock up till its handle which was the only thing out of the rock.

"That's the Z Sword?" Hermione asked.

"It is," Kibito said, his voice disinteresting talking to a mere mortal.

Gohan felt angry at Kibito for a moment but he knew Kibito was a Kai and people of higher positions tend to keep a little ego with them.

They all landed on the hill top and Gohan let Hermione un-grip him.

"I still can't believe this little boy pulled out the sword," Kibito said in an amused tone.

"I wasn't a boy back then, Kibito, I was seventeen years old, nearly an adult," Gohan said.

"And he has all his previous powers in his child body, Kibito. Also, Gohan became a lot stronger after that," Supreme Kai said.

Kibito just scoffed for the moment before placing his gaze at the sword. Gohan, for a moment, compared Kibito with Vegeta but soon shrugged the thought away. There was no being in this entire universe more concern for his or her pride than Vegeta.

"So, Gohan? Let's begin," Supreme Kai said and Gohan nodded.

He came near the sword and gripped the handle hard. He knew this time it would be a lot easier than before and he was right. He had hardly applied any force and the sword swiftly came out, much to Kibito's shock and surprise who rubbed his eyes twice at what he saw. Not only did this mortal have pulled out the sword with almost no effort at all, he was holding it like the sword was made of paper.

Gohan swung the sword swiftly like a professional. "You know, the last time, it had taken everything inside me to get a hold of this sword," he said. "Alright, now we have to break this sword."

"Break the sword! Are you out of your mind, mortal!" Kibito shouted.

"Old Kai has been trapped inside this sword, Kibito. We need his help and wisdom. I have seen through Gohan's previous experiences that the Old Kai indeed lies inside this sword," Supreme Kai said.

"But...But how can one break the Z Sword, master? It is invincible!" Kibito said.

"I can try and break it. If it won't work, we have another plan as well," Gohan said and Supreme Kai smiled as well.

Kibito could not believe what was happening. Out of nowhere, three people had arrived and now one of them had taken out the Z Sword and wanted to break it. No one asked for his advice but he knew why. If his superior believed this boy, then this would be a right thing to do after all. He had avoided the fact but he knew what he felt from the north quadrant, specifically from the planet of these two mortals, it wasn't pleasant at all. Ignorance to its power would only be a foolish thing to do.

Gohan took in a long breath and held the handle and the pointer of the sword on either of his hands. He looked at all those who were with him. Hermione was looking straight in his eyes and he smiled at her. He could swere for a moment he saw Hermione blush at him for that.

He gripped the sword tightly and tapped into his Saiyan power and clenched his teeth as the sword bent in his hands. Of everyone who stood there, two's eyes widened with shock at Gohan's power. Kibito and Supreme Kai couldn't believe what they now sensed from Gohan. Though Supreme Kai knew Gohan was actually a lot stronger than this but still, Gohan was exhibiting raw power. After all, Saiyans were a warrior race and Gohan had Saiyan blood inside him. A warrior always had raw power.

Gohan, after attempting for a minute, knew it wasn't going to help. So he increased his power and a golden aura surrounded him out of nowhere and his hair turned blond. But he didn't stop. He kept going and the ground around them started to shake. He had to take control of this level of his power one day. If not, he would be consumed by it, the way he almost had when fighting with Cell.

Hermione could feel the air around her getting denser and denser when out of nowhere, flashes of lightning started coming out of Gohan's body and mixing with the golden aura of his body, radiated it all around then. The reverberation of the raw power could not pass unnoticed by anyone and Supreme Kai gave an indication to Kibito who nodded his head and caught Hermione and the four of them flew away from the hill top.

Hermione struggled for a moment in Kibito's grip but soon calmed down as she got to know why. The entire hill now started to vibrate just like the grounds and cracks formed in it. The static that was produced by Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 aura was enveloping the entire hill and suddenly a blinding flash happened and a shrill cry of Gohan followed soon.

Opening her eyes, Hermione let it adjust for a minute before she looked at the hill. The hill was no more. Gohan was hovering where he stood a moment ago with two broken pieces of the sword in wither of his hands. His form had gone back to normal and he was breathing a bit heavily but he didn't look that tired.

"It...It can't...be.."

"He is amazing," Supreme Kai said before Kibito could even finish his words.

The four then hovered towards Gohan who had, by now, descended back on the ground with the sword pieces in his hands. He threw them on the ground and soon smoke started to come out of it.

As the other four landed, Hermione quickly came by Gohan's side and stood close bye, gripping his hand. Gohan didn't move or said anything but he admitted that the contact made him feel better.

The smoke now got denser and denser before a 'puff' sound came and a cloud of smoke appeared.

Suddenly, there was the presence of a new ki and Gohan knew who it was but he remained quiet. As everyone waited for the smoke cloud to be cleared, a figure came out of it followed by a slight coughing sound.

An old version of Supreme Kai emerged from the cloud of smoke. He had a bent back and wrinkled face. No wonder why 'Old' was added to his name.

"Hmm..." the Old Kai hummed as he looked around the green place and the ground where he stood when suddenly he realised something and looked up at Gohan and smiled.

"We meet again?" he said, rather in a questioning way.

"Again?" Gohan asked.

"Now you can't expect me to not know who you are, Gohan. Time travel? I guess Yamma finally had his hands on that time turner. Quiet impressive, if I say so myself," Old Kai said to himself.

"Excuse me, um, are you my ancestor?" Supreme Kai asked.

The Old Kai turned and looked at the one who just spoke and his face turned up to a frown.

"Depressing! And you call yourself a Supreme Kai? You must know who I am. It is your job," Old Kai said in a bit angry tone.

Supreme Kai sulked a bit at that. He had to admit he had a lot to learn even now. But this was not the time to think of all those things.

"My apologies, great ancestor. I just wanted to confirm who you really are," Supreme Kai said and bowed in front of his older version of a Kai. Kibito followed his master and bowed as well. Gohan and Hermione remained as they were. Neither had time for all this formalities.

"I suppose I should thank you first thing? It really was difficult to live inside that sword. The last time, it took you a bit longer," Old Kai said.

"There's no need, really, Old Kai. I think you know why we are here?" Gohan asked.

"I do. And I think there's hardly anything you can do to get yourself and your planet out of this situation," Old Kai said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

Old Kai turned and looked at the bushy haired girl and smiled faintly.

"I can already see how beautiful you are going to be once you grow up," Old Kai said.

Gohan was aware of the flirty nature of this old person but he did got a bit angry at that and Old Kai apologised to Hermione.

"Now, to answer your question, Hermione, this new threat is not new at all," Old Kai said.

"We don't understand," Gohan said.

"It is an old enemy to your magical world, not from your time, Hermione, but years ahead from that. I suppose you both know about Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Old Kai asked.

"Does this have to do something with him?' Hermione asked.

"It was. He's dead now and is the very reason Harry is dead as well," Old Kai said.

"How can you say that?" Hermione asked. "Voldemort can't die unless his anchors are destroyed first!"

"Do you really think his anchors would've been saved during that destruction on your planet?" Old Kai asked. "I suppose not. Voldemort was killed using a loophole in the same ritual which brought him back in his original body."

Hermione and Gohan's eyes widened at that. And then it hit Gohan.

"I see you have joined the dots. Do you get it now, Gohan?" Old Kai asked.

"It was that same night!" Gohan said.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"That night, when Harry died, I felt the same ki of what it is on our planet right now. I woke up to feel it for a moment after which it vanished. I went over to Harry's room and found a cut in his arm which he was gripping tightly."

Hermione's eyes widened when she heard that but before she could say something, Old Kai answered for her.

"His blood had been taken for the ritual but..."

"But what?" Hermione asked.

"His blood also tied his life with Voldemort's and when he was killed, Harry died as well. That's the very reason why Voldemort was also killed, even though his anchors were left untouched, well, whatever was left. He won't be coming back. Not even the dragon balls can bring him back because his soul was already parted in seven and the dragon can't join back the soul. It is beyond his power," Old Kai said.

"You said this threat was related to Voldemort and it had been in our world for a long time. What actually did you mean?" Gohan asked.

"The threat we are discussing about right now is none other than Voldemort's daughter," Old Kai said.

Neither of the teens expected this answer. They thought they heard it wrong but then Gohan realised Kais never lied.

"That can't be! Voldemort can never have a child...it's...it's..." Hermione couldn't find the words.

"I presume you know about Bellatrix?" Old Kai gave a hint and that was more than enough for both of them to understand the family drama. But there was still one thing left to be cleared out.

Old Kai knew their thoughts as it was easy to guess. As so, he then proceeded to explain the story of Merope to them.

"Voldemort and Bella conceived her a year before the Battle which took place at Hogwarts. They hid her in a safe place, away from the knowledge of even the wisest peoples of the world. For the one year, he taught her as many things as he could, using charms and spells which helped her understand his words and theories even at that age. As you might've guessed, the light side lost the fight in your timeline, Hermione. But it wasn't how it was supposed to have happened. Your timeline is also an altered one. The original timeline had Harry being killed by Voldemort, thereby destroying the horcrux as well. It was Neville Longbottom who finally destroyed the final horcrux, killing Voldemort. Dumbledore had been killed by Snape, so that Voldemort could put his best trusts in him, thereby telling him his best of plans so that the light side could use it against him."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Snape, while dying away from Nagini's bite, told Harry the truth by giving him his memory. Unknown to them both, Dumbledore had manipulated Snape to do even that when the old man had realised he would not have any other choice but to make someone kill him, that someone would be Snape.

"Harry, after seeing the memory, made up his mind and sacrificed himself to kill Voldemort, forgiving Snape as well," Old Kai said.

"You said the timeline was altered?" Hermione asked.

"By none other than Merope, Voldemort's daughter. She is a very learned witch, I will give her that. She invented and discovered various black, dark and light spells and charms, one of them being time travel without the use of a time turner. Not only that, she could go in the future, too. She also invented a way to make herself an entity; hence she will live forever until someone kills her. She loved her father dearly. I don't know whether you know this or not, but Tom had a rough childhood, even rougher than Harry. And besides that, he never had someone to love him. So he became a person with a dark mindset, condemned on the fact that purity is everything, hence his obsession towards the purebloods. He had loved her mother dearly, though he never got to see her even once. He hated his muggle father for the only reason that he had left his mother when he had found out she had used love potions on him. He hated those who had caused her pain. His hate grew stronger and stronger until he lost it and became Voldemort. When he first saw his daughter, he gave her everything he knew. He also named her after his mother, Merope. Merope, knowing those things at that age, became more learned as she grew up. But as her mindset changed with time, she saw only her own survival and didn't even leave her father. She was the reason Voldemort was killed, along with Harry. She needed to absorb his energy," Old Kai said.

"Absorb his energy for what?" Gohan asked.

"I am afraid I can't answer you that. Though I know she did it to only complete her transformation from a half souled girl to a completely new entity," he replied.

"Half souled?" Hermione asked.

"She has Voldemort's blood in her veins along with a human's. Now, since Voldemort didn't have his complete soul when he made himself responsible for her existence, Merope was only born with a half soul. And you know how much important it is for one to have his full soul inside them before you can destroy them," Old Kai said.

"And that's why she is an entity," Gohan muttered. "What do you mean you can't tell us about her real purpose of absorbing her father's energy?"

"Like I told you, Gohan, she is a very learned witch. She has travelled back and forth in time more than anyone in this entire universe except for one. She changed Hermione's timeline dozens of times. She needed things to happen according to her choice, though no one knows about her real motives. I am sorry, just like the Guardian of your planet, she is capable of hiding things she desires, from any of the Kais," Old Kai said.

"So what should we do then? We can't just let her roam on our planet. She killed every single life on Earth!" Gohan said in anger, sparks of his ki crackling around him from time to time.

Hermione saw how desperate Gohan was and how angry, too. Thinking of no other way, she placed her hand on his and squeezed it lightly. That affected little on the boy beside her but it did in a way as Gohan calmed down a little before he looked at her.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't mention it. I understand," Hermione said.

"So how do we take her?" Gohan turned towards the Old Kai and asked.

"I am sorry, but you can't. An entity can only be killed by another entity. Even if you try and become even stronger, which I presume is near to impossible, it will hardly help you defeat her," Old Kai said.

"Well, than any hope is valid as long as it lasts against her, no matter how small it is!" Gohan said in a steely voice and Hermione, with her experience with him for all this time, knew what Gohan was talking about but she didn't have even a close idea what it actually was. But she knew that expression on the boy's face.

"Gohan?" she asked.

"I know what you are thinking, Gohan. But it will hardly help you," Old Kai said.

"And like I said, every little hope we have to defeat this evil, I am going for it no matter how small it is," Gohan replied in his steely voice. "I thank you, Old Kai, for telling us about all of this."

"I should be thanking you, Gohan. You got me out of that sword earlier than I had thought. And don't do anything stupid," Old Kai said.

"I can't promise you that. And thanks again," Gohan said. "So, shall we go?" he said looking at Hermione and King Kai who had hardly spoke anything after reaching here. The north Kai was still in shock when he heard the Old Kai's voice calling him and he came out of his trance.

"North Kai, I can't thank you enough. You played an important role in the defeat of Majin Buu in Gohan's timeline," Old Kai said. "If it wasn't for you teaching Goku the spirit bomb technique, I can hardly imagine the universe would be intact by then."

King Kai just nodded before he took a hold of Gohan's hand and the three vanished a moment later. Supreme Kai and Kibito kept looking at the now empty place where the three were standing a moment ago before they turned to look at Old Kai. From the looks on his face, Supreme Kai immediately knew his ancestor knew something.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Something which I believe is going to happen. But things can change. Feeling Merope's true ki now, since she is in our timeline, I can hardly think of a way for Gohan to find a way to defeat her. If he can't, I presume Earth will be no more. And there is no one except for two others in this universe who are stronger than Gohan," Old Kai said.

"I think I know one of them. Who's the other one?" Supreme Kai asked.

"His caretaker and teacher, Lord Whis," Old Kai said.

"You are saying it like he's even stronger than Lord Beerus," Kibito said.

"That's because he is. I think it isn't hard for you to guess who would be a lot experienced among a teacher and his student? Lord Whis is the strongest being in this universe and a very level headed god if I say so. He is the only reason Lord Beerus stays in control every time he wakes up," Old Kai said.

That last sentence made a chill ran over Kibito and Supreme Kai's spine. If all this while Lord Beerus was acting in a controlled way, they could not imagine him being out of Lord Whis' control. They knew Lord Beerus wasn't a bad god. But he had an issue with his child like capacity to think. The fact that he was an impatient god added more to his ferocity.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You guys might find some grammatical mistakes in this chapter. I am giving you all a heads up but those who know me know that none of my stories are planned. I wrote this and the next chapter in a hurry. I don't know why but I did and so you might find a few errors but nothing much.**

 **00000**

Hermione came out of her training room, feeling tired after a three hour practice with her duelling techniques. Sweat covered her face and neck as her top was wet, too. Her breathing was a bit heavy but in control. After all these days, she had increased her stamina and style of duelling remarkably. If to be honest, she thought she could easily put up a challenge and win in a duel against professor Flitwick, who was the best duellist in all of Hogwarts.

As going towards the room she was using while she lived here on the Lookout, Hermione heard powerful cries and shouts of Gohan. It had almost been a week after they had returned back from the Kai Planet and Gohan, since that very same day, had started training hard. For a moment, she was amazed as she saw his speed and ferocity but then again, this guy had destroyed almost twenty dementors in front of her and she already had a glimpse of his power. Thanks to all that Hermione didn't seemed that surprised now but she was still surprised every time she saw him train. Seeing the way he moved, his muscles tightened and relaxed, she felt a bit odd felling inside herself, a feeling she had come to like now.

After taking a bath, she had come to her room where the breakfast awaited her. Mr Popo clearly took a great care of this place but she still didn't feel good that someone like Popo was putting up effort for her and Gohan. She held the short man in high respect for two reasons- one that he was the Guardian's assistant and two; he was a bloody great teacher. She had even talked to him once regarding this matter but Mr Popo had denied her requests with a gentle smile. she requested him several times but all she could ever get in reply from him was that it was his job to take care of them all and he was more than happy for that. So, even though she hated it, she accepted all of this with a faint smile she gave to the Guardian assistant.

The food was delicious, as always. The varieties were also mouth watering and Hermione knew, with all that duelling practices and her own martial arts training which Mr Popo taught her, her physique had increased a great deal. She had even developed packs and a little muscle. She had never imagined herself with all those muscular looks but now she kind of liked it. Even Gohan had complimented her on that and she flushed at his comment, much to her own surprise.

Eating silently in the large room, she heard someone enter. Turning towards the door saw her looking at Gohan. He had showered as his hair was still a bit wet. His muscles looked more toned and tighter with his veins visible over his skin.

Gohan smiled at her and Hermione smiled back as the half Saiyan joined her on the table. They both ate in silence. There was hardly anything to talk about. She had been told about everything from Gohan's timeline from Gohan and she had told him about her life from her own timeline. Neither of them wanted to discuss about the current situation. Though Hermione missed her parents like hell, she knew everything will be fine at the end. She knew they would succeed but didn't know how long it would take them to. For a moment, she even cursed the damn time turner which had brought them all back. Gohan had told her it was a different time turner and would bring the travellers back in their original timeline only after their mission was completed. Also, if any of the travellers died in the different timeline, the remaining ones will also not be able to return back.

She knew Harry would be wished back like the rest of the people using the dragon balls. Kami had already begun working on making the new balls but being old and re-creating the balls once again was certainly going to take time- a lot of time. Gohan had also told her that they could go to Namek any time and use their dragon balls but it would be a waste to wish for the lives of the Earthlings before dealing with the problems. But they agreed to keep it as their backup plan.

Finishing up the breakfast, both teenagers came out of the palace to enjoy the sun and the breezy morning. It was a pleasant weather but they hated that it was going to be ruined. They had planned to go down and have a look, hoping to find some leads over Merope's plans and works. No one knew what her real motives were, not even Kami. No one blamed him either because if someone like her could hide herself from the Old Kai's eyes, then Merope could easily hide herself from Kami's as well.

"Are you ready?" Gohan asked with concern. It was only the second time for Hermione to go down, her first time being the trip to Hogwarts where the carpet of their friends and professors had impacted deep inside her.

"I am," she said in a husky voice.

"But you don't sound like one," Gohan said.

"I am still afraid, Gohan. But I think I need to go down there. Like I said- I need to embrace the reality. I can't keep running away from it no matter how weak I am against it," she said with a bit determination.

Gohan looked intently at her as Hermione kept looking down towards the Earth as they both stood on the edge of the Lookout. For a moment, Hermione reminded him of Videl but when he thought it more closely, he realised that he had not seen Videl this strong ever. It was true she was a strong fighter but her determination wasn't as strong as Hermione's.

"As you wish. And you know we can come back anytime you want, right?" he asked.

Hermione merely nodded, still looking down, towards the clouds floating below the Lookout. Gohan took her hand which she clasped on his waist tightly. She used her other hand to do the same as they both rose up in the air and started descending down. Gohan was flying slowly, careful enough to not drop Hermione as flying with someone clinging to him was something he found rather difficult. He could not forget the day when he had to take Bulma, Trunks and Yajirobe away from the androids when Dr Gero and his other android 19 had attacked. He had almost dropped Bulma and Trunks twice.

As they descended, the white and light clouds were left above them and were soon replaced by black clouds with lightning coming out from them from time to time. Hermione gripped Gohan tighter to protect herself from those millions of volts of electricity. Gohan, realising this, let his ki envelop them both and the lightning issue was over. It was nothing compared to Gohan's powerful ki. He nodded her head and smiled when Hermione muttered a 'thanks' as they keep on descending down.

"The clouds are getting darker," Hermione said.

"Not only darker, but weirder. I am sensing some weird kis in them. They are a lot denser than the rainy clouds, too. This was not here the last time I had come down," Gohan said with concern.

They touched the ground and Gohan let her away from her so he could examine the surrounding. He noticed there was a different kind of a decaying smell in the air- different from the rotting smell of human and animal flesh. His eyes only widened when he saw the plants and trees, along with the small grasses below him and Hermione were decaying, too. He saw Hermione who was also looking shocked at this.

What was happening?

It appeared as if the whole planet was dying, decaying under some sort of an illness which had enveloped the whole sphere. Gohan let kis ki senses heighten up and felt the same ki everywhere. It only meant one thing- whatever was happening down here was happening to the entire planet. if this continued, then even the Dragon Balls would prove worthless as they will have nowhere to spread themselves on the planet. Kami could no longer sense anything from the planet. he had told Gohan that for the Guardian's eyes, the planet had been hidden, just like the magical world was in Gohan's timeline.

Holding each other's hands, the two vanished away and appeared right in front of the castle of Hogwarts. The sight which said that even the ruins of the castle were decaying only added to their shock.

"The magical world always said Hogwarts was a living soul. Maybe that's why?" Hermione spoke.

The Forbidden Forest and the small woods surrounding Hogsmead had gone decayed a long time ago.

Gohan looked at Hermione who looked back at him, her eyes twinkling with determination. Understanding her, he took her hand and they vanished again, appearing at the entrance gate of Hogwarts which was the only thing standing on the ground. But even the great metal gate had corroded away to most of its sections and parts. Entering through the corroded gate, they both had to close their noses and mouths as a stinking, sickening smell of decay and rot attacked them. Hermione took out her wand from her free hand and applied several air freshening charms around them but it all went in vain so she conjured masks for them both and only then did they felt relieved.

As they entered further through the ruins, they saw the now decaying bodies of everyone. No one was recognizable which was probably a good thing as they never thought they could bear to see one familiar face in this condition. They did, however, recognised Dumbledore's now decaying corpse only because of his robes. The old and thin bastard deserved crueler end than this but Hermione knew thinking like this was not a right thing to do.

"We should probably do what we came to do here in the first place," Gohan said. Hermione nodded and they walked the stairs to go to the upper floors.

Thankfully the seventh floor was destroyed far lesser than the lower floors, probably because hardy anyone came up here but the debris were still there. Gohan and Hermione felt the stuff they had brought with them before Gohan walked three times in front of a wall.

A rumbling sound was produced as the wall turned to a door, much to the teens' happiness. The castle wasn't completely dead. They looked at each other and smiled again and then walked through the door. Hermione recognised what the room represented. It was the same room they had come in during their fifth year when Neville had first found it. a small fire was lit in the black fireplace which had a mirrored wall and a few wooden dummies faced like death eaters.

"Let's get to work, shall we?" Gohan said and took out two stone chips from his pocket.

Hermione also took out two small stone chips from her pocket and they both headed to the opposite ends of the room, each one of them standing on the opposite corner of the room. Gripping the engraved stone chips in her hand, Hermione looked at Gohan.

"On the count of three- one, two... three!" Gohan said and with that they put the stone chip on the floor, in the corner of the room at the same time.

Same thing they did once again to the remaining two opposite corners of the room and now, each corner of the room had a rune stone. Gohan looked at Hermione who already had her wand out in her hand and the spell on her lips. He smiled.

"Sinest-an-taro!" she said and waved her wand in a really complex jig for almost ten seconds before she spoke the spell in reverse and suddenly each rune stones emitted a light which moved like a scanner's light, scanning every section of the room from its place and after a minute, the stones went back to normal.

"Do you think it's done?" Gohan asked.

"I think so. Let's check," Hermione said and they went to their respective corners and saw the stones.

The engraved runes on those stone chips were glowing a faint blue. Their work here was done and they put the stone chips back in their pockets and came out of the room.

"We also need to tell Kami what has happened down here," Gohan said as he held Hermione's hand and they vanished away in thin air.

00000

A shadowy figure watched the two teens vanishing away and smiled an evil smile. Merope's plans were working fluently and she knew she was going to succeed. But one thing worried her- she could not sense Gohan's future anymore. Whenever she tried to go in his future, she would end up in the Timeline where Gohan was a high school student. This had intrigued her as never before had she been denied to know someone's future. Hermione's was well known to her. The Granger girl was going to die, just like her parents had. But Merope also sensed altercations in Hermione's timeline. But its influence was so small that it could be overtaken without force.

00000

Appearing on the Lookout, Gohan and Hermione found Kami and Mr Popo waiting for them both. Gohan and Hermione handed the stones to Popo the first thing after arriving at the Lookout and the short man looked intently at those stone chips with engraved runes. The runes were glowing a faint blue which confirmed that soon enough a new room was going to be introduced inside the palace on the Lookout.

As Popo walked away towards the palace, Kami turned to look at the teens. It would not take even a child to realise that these teens knew something.

"Kami, Earth is dying," Gohan said straight and simple. He knew rounding up his words wouldn't help him.

"I need you to be more precise, Gohan. My vision towards the planet has been blocked. I can't sense anything at all. For me, it feels like there's no Earth at all," Kami said.

Gohan took a deep breath before he began.

"When we reached down there, we saw the remaining life forms, that is, the flora of the planet dying. It appeared as if they were decaying straight away. The corpses have also decayed. Fortunately, we got to Hogwarts in time but like you said, the castle, which had gone up to become a living soul due to the magical presence of witches and wizards have also began to decay. The Room of Requirement however was in a safe condition for us to have our work done," Gohan said.

Kami's face became grave. He gently put both his hands on Gohan and Hermione's head and took in their sights of the now dead Earth. His breath hitched as if he had an attack. Gohan and Hermione caught him before he could fell. They saw Popo came out running towards them. The assistant's face expressed extreme worry and care for the Guardian and friend.

"We have to take him inside," Popo said quickly and Gohan and Hermione nodded before Gohan picked Kami up and they ran towards the palace.

"What is happening to him?" Hermione asked.

"He is likely to accept that he failed as a Guardian to this planet," Popo said in a worried voice. "When that happens, the Guardian dies. We will have to convince him that it wasn't his fault,"

"It WASN'T his fault!" Gohan cried. For the half Saiyan, all Gohan could think was if Kami dies, things will take an ugly turn and nothing will be left. The Lookout, in the absence of a Guardian for more than a week, will disallow anyone to stay on it except for Mr Popo. And that would not be the only thing to worry for.

They put Kami in his room which was built especially for the Guardian as Popo went out to find the cure to Kami's pain. Gohan and Hermione remained beside Kami who kept whimpering and crying due to the pain and the defeat he felt was his responsibility- a task which he had failed to achieve.

Gohan watched intently as the Guardian tossed on his bed. For a moment, he saw Harry in Kami's place. It was the same way Harry had tossed around on his bed that night as he died due to the pain. He, for a moment, saw 16's shattered head in place of Kami. That it was his fault 16 had died by the hands of Cell angered him even now. Over the time, many had expected from him but he had hardly delivered to them, far less in the right time. He had lost his father, then Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Choutzou, Krillin and many more to the hands of evils. And he was there, seeing all of this through his own eyes, helpless enough to not help them.

He was afraid.

Gohan felt the same sensation he had got after 16 had died. He felt the same sensation when he had watched Krillin being blasted inside out by Frieza. He felt the same sensation when Nappa had killed Piccolo, and Raditz his father.

Popo ran inside the room with a round vial in his hand which had a bluish liquid inside it when he stopped cold.

The entire air inside the room had got dense enough to choke anyone. The crackling of the power could be seen as frequent electric flashes. It appeared as if the entire Lookout had been supercharged.

Hermione could not believe what he saw in the eyes of the boy who stood beside her. Gohan's veins had bulged out enough to burst up as they contracted and relaxed as the blood inside them flowed at high pressures.

And then the floor began to shake.

Hermione quickly hold the bed to prevent her fall as Popo did the same by grabbing the door where he was standing.

"I..."

She turned to look at Gohan and gasped.

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HER FOR THIS!"

And with a valiant cry, Gohan blasted out of the room, leaving a high end turbulence behind him which shook everything on the Lookout to its core.

Hermione and Popo got themselves up as they looked out in the direction towards which Gohan had flown away, leaving behind him a shaking Lookout and a whole shaking planet.

00000

Whis was disturbed off his silent meal when his cane appeared in front of him. The yellow ring which surrounded the black sphere on his cane was glowing. Narrowing his eyes, Whis caught a hold of his cane and tapped it once on the floor and the figure of a planet appeared in front of him. His eyes widened for a bit as it was the same planet he had gone to when he had felt an entity's ki coming from it. What surprised him the most was the fact that even being a god, he couldn't find the entity. He muttered a curse for his laziness. Had he been a bit more attentive when he was free, instead of trying new experiments with his food, he would've known who this new threat was. He was assured that the Supreme Kai or the Old Kai would know about this threat but Whis didn't want to make an appearance without Lord Beerus.

His eyes widened as a shadowy figure appeared before him in the projected images of Earth. And it looked like it was waiting for someone with high patience and a feral grin on the face. From everything Whis could see through his cane, he guessed this person was a female and a minute later he was proved right.

00000

Gohan didn't know where he was going. He was flying blind with rage and power. Seeing Kami had broken the dam inside him and he had blasted out of the Lookout like anything. But now, after flying for half a minute did he realized he didn't know where he was going but he felt not to stop and continue. And what surprised him more was his own ki. He was pulsating with power he had never felt before. He could see the front few locks of his black hair flashing yellow and while they did that, they grew in length.

Gohan knew what was happening to him bit he was afraid, scared that something like before will happen to him. But then again, who was here to get hurt from him. So he let his boundary of power break for the final time as a yellow light, brighter than the sun, enveloped him as he kept flying.

00000

The ground developed a crater as a yellow light landed on it. The shadowy figure smiled again, her hood covering her face. Her powers didn't deceive her yet again. She mentally complimented herself as the yellow light started to fade in front of her and she smiled when she saw Gohan's final form looking at her with a lethal sight.

Gohan was now a Super Saiyan 3.

"Don't you want to know how you got here, Gohan?" she asked, her hood covering her face.

For a moment, Gohan stirred but kept up his angry face as he looked at her and answered, "Does it matter now? I don't care how powerful or how dangerous you are. I will kill you."

"Oh, will you? I was thinking we could've had fun for a little while before we could, you know, kill each other? But it looks like I have to now impress you since you've managed to impress me a bit with that little transformation of yours," Merope said and removed her hood.

He felt as if the ground itself has shifted off from below his feet as he looked at the smiling face in front of him. He quavered with emotions and logical thinking, recognising the debate both of them were currently having inside his head as Gohan tried to keep himself balanced.

"So, do you like me, Gohan?" she asked.

"Videl?" was all Gohan could say before he blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter Lord Beerus in a...a state I think some of you will not approve. But try and make a connection if you can though the next chapter will clear all the doubts.**

 **00000**

Hermione was panicking and neither Kami, or Popo or Korin could do anything to calm her down.

Gohan hadn't returned back since two days after he had blasted out away from the Lookout all angry. Kami had got well by the next day and was told everything by Popo. The Guardian was aghast by the power traces he sensed on the Lookout. Even after twenty four hours, Gohan's power traces still felt like mere hours old.

"Hermione, you need to calm down," Korin tried for one last time and as he had expected, nothing happened to Hermione's panicked expressions. It rather got worse.

"Kami, can't you sense him?" she asked, turning towards the Guardian.

"Alas, I can't, Hermione. He went away in anger, blaming himself for all this destruction. Mr Popo also went down but even he couldn't find him," Kami said.

"Isn't there any way to know what's happened to him?" she asked with teary eyes.

"There is one way. But I don't think it will be an easy thing to achieve," Popo said and both, Kami and Korin looked at him with knowing looks. But Hermione cut them both soon.

"Do anything, but please just find a way to figure out if Gohan's okay or not," she said in a commanding voice, regaining her bossy nature.

"But will she agree? We don't even know where she is at the moment," Korin said.

"But she's alive," Kami said.

"And is quiet a person on her own," Korin said. "Do you have any idea where she could be found?"

"At King Yamma's place. if not there, then he would know where," Kami said. "Mr Popo can go and bring her here. I think she will agree to come. Even she's a human, after all."

"I can bring her," Popo said.

"Who are we talking about?" Hermione asked, her curiousness peaking up.

"She's called Fortune Teller Baba," Kami said. "Her crystal ball can give you eyes to anywhere on the planet. It hurts to say this but right now, her ball has more coverage than my Guardian powers."

"Then call her!" she said.

No one said another word as Popo's magic carpet appeared and he jumped on it and vanished away.

"We'll just have to pray for her to understand the situation," Korin said.

00000

Two out of three Kais on the Kai planet were in complete shock even after two days and even after Old Kai had made them understand that what they had felt was Gohan's ki.

"But...But this can't be. Mortals, far less Saiyans are not that powerful. Their ki can't be sensed from this far away!" Kibito said. The pink Kai was going crazy. He had seen a mere teenager boy pull out the Z Sword, appear at their planet without being called, released Old Kai and now this power release! Kibito Kai wasn't having a peaceful time at the moment.

"But Old Kai said Saiyans can go this far. In Gohan's old timeline, his father had become this powerful to fight Buu. But it does seem near to impossible. Though I had sensed Gohan's power when he came here, I never expected him to be this powerful," Supreme Kai said.

"He's more powerful than his father in this form," Old Kai said, walking towards them, rubbing his eyes as he had just woke up from a nap.

"You...You mean his father, when he had transformed, was less powerful than Gohan?" Supreme Kai asked.

"Yes. Goku had although managed to transform into his Super Saiyan 3 form, but he had managed to do it just once before he changed to face Buu. He was not strong enough in his previous form to harness the full powers of this form. As for Gohan, he is far much stronger than his father in all his three forms which gives him the advantage to harness the true power of his Super Saiyan 3 form," Old Kai said.

"But his ki vanished all of a sudden!" Kibito said. "Surely he would not have been able to handle that enormous amount of power."

"Kibito! What is it with you? It appears you have got jealous from this boy. Are you afraid of him since he's a lot stronger than you?" Old Kai asked angrily.

"I apologise for my behaviour, Old Kai," Kibito said, bowing to his old ancestor. Though he admitted this fact that he was kind of scared at Gohan's power. Since his early years, Kibito had dreamt of pulling out the Z Sword. He was a new Kai to be raised to this standard and maybe that was why he felt like this most of the time. He yet had a lot to learn from these two Kais.

00000

Baba was angry like anything. Her ego was again spoiling her. Being an immortal divination human did have its toll. She continued ranting all the while to the Lookout as Popo brought her there on his magic carpet.

Flying down the carpet on her crystal ball, which appeared almost half her size since she herself was not more than a foot tall, Baba looked angrily at Kami and started shouting how important her time was and that they had no right to drag her to them for their own benefits until Hermione, having enough of this ranting old bat, had stepped forward and shouted like a banshee on her, making Baba and others on the Lookout stand cold with fear.

"Listen to me, you old fart!" Hermione was beyond her control, raising her finger towards the short, old woman. "You either use your powers and find out where Gohan is, or I myself will make sure that you are tortured. Trust me; I've had enough rough days for you to see me angry!"

Everyone backed up, looking at this Hermione. The curious, intelligent girl had turned to a completely different person. Baba could feel the magic Hermione released and it was dense. She shivered when she saw the truthfulness in Hermione's eyes. She could hardly imagine what 'torture' Hermione will use on her so helping them was the only thing seemed logical. So, getting off her crystal ball, Baba made all the way to the centre of the Lookout, the three others following her close, making sure she doesn't run away, baba waved her hand and a puffy cushion appeared out of smoke and she sat comfortably on it, now moving her hands on her precious ball.

"Crystal ball, wake up now. Tell me where Gohan is now!" she said, more like sang while the other three waited, with Hermione intently seeing Baba's actions.

Suddenly the ball glowed bright blue and something appeared on it.

00000

Gohan groaned as he opened his eyes. Waiting for his vision to adjust to the light, he woke up to find himself in a dark cave. It was cold in here. He felt kind of weird. As he pushed himself up from the stone type bed on which he was lying, Gohan remembered what had happened.

The girl appeared to be exactly like Videl and he couldn't believe it. He knew she wasn't Videl because he recognised her ki. And moreover, whoever this girl was, she wasn't human and he was sure of that.

He groaned and held his hurting head as he straightened himself up. He needed to get out of here. He didn't know for how long he was out. And Kami could no longer sense the Earth so they wouldn't even know whether he was alive or dead. He closed his eyes for a moment and created a small energy ball which would show him light and levitated it in the air and started walking towards his right. He was careful and had heightened up his ki senses. Since everything on this planet was dead now, anything he would sense would be no one other than Merope.

After ten minutes of walking, he saw light coming from far away and so followed the source. He also smelled something weird, something he didn't recognized. Giving up on walking, Gohan started to fly in order to get there faster and soon enough, he was standing at the entrance of a large cave like room with several burning torches and cauldrons kept on fire. Something was in there in every cauldron and those weird smells were coming from them.

"Good afternoon," a voice called from his behind and Gohan turned at once to see Merope standing there. He backed away quickly, taking his fighting stance. Merope just rolled her eyes. "After all that do you honestly think you will have any chance against me?" she said, chuckling.

But something else bothered Gohan. "Why couldn't I sense you?" he asked.

"Oh, right. To answer that, let me tell you that I have now evolved, something which I always wanted to be. My father would've loved it and he himself would've wanted to become like me. But you know how he is with all his 'rule the world' principles. Also, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to come this far," Merope said.

"What do you mean?" Gohan said, his eyes focussed on Merope's, trying not to distract himself thinking her to be Videl.

"Wouldn't you like to sit down? Let me show you around," she said.

"I asked you a question!" Gohan glowered but suddenly fell hard on the floor with a piercing pain in his head.

"And I told you to sit down. Please, Gohan. You are making this hard for your own self," she said, pouting at him.

Gohan gritted his teeth tightly but couldn't bear the pain for longer but fortunately, she lifted it up from him and he took in deep breathes.

"There. That's better. Now, sit down," she said and a chair was conjured automatically beside Gohan.

Gohan, thinking that he would not be able to bear the pain again, slowly sat on the chair. It wasn't trapped, thankfully. He didn't get any shocks or pains all over his body. It was an ordinary chair.

"Comfortable?" Merope asked with a smile but Gohan didn't reply. He just kept staring daggers at her. "I'd take that as a yes. So, now that you are settled, let's talk. First, it will be my turn and I would really like to tell you proudly that this is my home." She said and waved her hand all around, showing Gohan her cave.

"What makes you think I would be interested to know that this stinky cave is your aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he cried out in severe pain, much more amplified one than before.

"Please don't criticize my home in front of me. You have no idea how much struggle it was for my parents to make this place for me. So please, show some respect," she said in a calm, girly voice.

Gohan grunted in pain, his eyes half closed. Once the pain lifted, Gohan's head hung low as if his neck was broken. He was barely conscious when Merope lifted his face to make him look at her. He saw her with blurry visions of half closed eyes. She smiled and gave him a passionate kiss. Gohan was shocked to no end. A moment later when the kiss was broken, Merope looked contented.

"Ah, just like I remember," she said, licking her lips after the kiss. Gohan's widened eyes soon heaved down due to the pain he was feeling all over his body even after Merope had stopped whatever she had done to cause him that pain. "And though I'd like to do that again, I am afraid I can't. I have lots of other works to do."

Gohan watched with pain as he saw her leave the room and then disappear in the shadows of the place. he felt his eyelids going heavy again as he approached to the state of losing his consciousness when he suddenly felt a ki. His eyes snapped open all of a sudden. It was a ki, though not human but of someone or something alive. He realised he wasn't tied or locked on the chair so e tried to get up. His legs shook hard and his head felt light and vision blurred. He held his head with both his hands as he tried to remain standing.

'Help me,' a voice echoed inside Gohan's head. A voice he had never heard before and it sounded as if the person was in severe pain. Gohan shook his head, trying to get the light headed feeling away. A minute later he felt a bit better and decided to follow the ki signal. It could be a trap but he was sure he would hardly survive even a mere Saiyaman would attack him now. His power core had been completely depleted and he only had enough energy to walk around.

Once feeling a bit better, Gohan stood straight and started to follow the signal. He took the support of the cave walls. They were dark, moist and cold. It felt like he was touching ice.

As he moved closer to the ki source, it got stronger and he don't know why but felt bit by bit better as if the ki was also restoring his power. Finally, after what appeared like walking for an hour or so, Gohan finally found a stone room, very small and congested. The ki was the stronger here and whatever it was of, it was here. He tried to push the door which was made of what looked like a mixture of metal and rock. The door made a gurgling sound as if Gohan was moving aside a huge boulder and opened up without much effort.

Once the door was opened, Gohan saw it was indeed a very small room, more like the size of a prison cell. There was a stone platform inside with a small ventilator shaft through which the room appeared humid. Also, the roof of the room illuminated some slight light so not to leave the room in darkness. Then his eyes stopped as he saw someone curled over the raised platform.

From what it looked like, the guy, or whatever or whoever it was, was tall, as thin like stick and had light blue skin. Gohan also noticed it had long white hair and something sort of a light blue ring around its neck. It wore a maroon outfit with something like a sort of a black apron or jacket...or probably both with rhombic prints in a vertical line.

'Help me,' the voice inside Gohan said and from his knowledge of telepathy, he knew it was this guy who was talking to him telepathically. He hesitated approaching whoever it was because he was getting a weird sense out of this guy but then again, his good nature overpowered him and Gohan took a step and walked inside the room. He stopped, hoping for something to happen.

Nothing happened. He took another step. Nothing happened again. He took a third and a fourth step and now was standing near the platform and could see the face of the curled body. It was a beautiful male face, more like a human's with only light blue in colour. The eyes of the being were closed and Gohan could see the being's breathing was ragged and very occasional. Whoever this being was was clearly on the brink of death as Gohan could determine it by the way of the guy's breathing.

"Help me," he being said this time, his voice hoarse as if his throat was dry and he had nothing to eat.

"What makes you think that I'd believe you?" Gohan asked cautiously.

The being smiled, his eyes still closed but then formed a scowl as e felt a surge of unbearable pain all over his body. He didn't have enough energy left to even smile.

"Touch me," the being said.

"Why?" Gohan asked.

"It will clear your doubts," the being said.

Gohan hesitated to do so but then he noticed how weak this being at the moment was so what harm could Gohan get in? Hesitatingly, he raised his left hand and placed it lightly on the being's hand. The part where his sleeve was torn, Gohan placed his hand there and as soon as his skin touched to the blue skin of the being, a voice rang inside Gohan's head in a strange language and a moment later, it stopped and Gohan immediately removed his hand away from the being. His shock knew no bounds. His energy was restored, though not completely, but enough to have him get out of the place. He then looked at the being once more and now it looked weaker and almost on the brink of death. But then the being smiled.

"Still don't trust me?" the being said.

"What did you do?" Gohan asked.

"As you can see, I gave you a portion of my powers which healed your core to a little bit."

"Why would you do that?" Gohan asked.

"So that you can get me out of here," the being said. "Take me to Earth's guardian. He knows who I am and so does the North Kai. Please, Gohan."

Gohan stepped back but then a different feeling overwhelmed him and he didn't know why but took a step forward and using both his hands, lifted the almost weightless body in his arms. They being's body, as Gohan felt through his attire, was of very thin frame. His hands were as thin as dry sticks but Gohan could feel how hard and brittle they were. His entire body was. Then, Gohan got a feeling of getting out of there and used his instant transmission technique. He didn't know if he could fly up to the Lookout and also didn't know why he was trusting this...this guy or whoever it was. But it knew about the Lookout and Kami.

He closed his eyes and an image of the Lookout formed in his mind as he sensed Kami's energy signal and vanished away, taking the being with him.


	5. Chapter 5

Whis left the temple where he and Beerus reside. He had seen the face of whatever it was which had currently created a startled situation among the kais. Whis knew he wouldn't be getting any information from the Old Kai or the Supreme Kai. The only place where he could get some answers was the planet from which he had sensed the dark energy. He still couldn't believe what he was sensing from the planet. The most populated and life-filled planet in that solar system had been wiped out of its majority of the life forces in seconds.

Being the fastest being in the universe had its perks as Whis took off towards Earth. It would, from his estimation, take him forty five minutes to reach the planet.

But he never made it in time. As soon as he reached near the solar system of the planet earth, his momentum stopped. The jerk caused due to that almost took Whis off guard and he was shocked.

Nothing had ever been so powerful enough to stop him while he travelled. It just wasn't possible. Even his sister, Vados, who was more powerful than him, couldn't stop him while he was at his full speed. The nature of god he was, this wasn't just possible. But he didn't need to wait longer for the reason to pop up as a shadowy figure appeared right in front of him.

"Look who shows up," the figure said.

Whis remained unmoved though he narrowed his eyes. Whoever this was, he was sure brave as challenging Whis wasn't a child's play.

"Who are you?" Whis asked.

"For someone like you," said the cloaked figure, "the question seems out of the place."

Whis tried to speak again but found he couldn't move. And what was more shocking was that he felt his power being drained. But by what?

"Surprised?" asked the cloaked figure.

"What...What are you doing?" Whis asked. "Who are you?"

"Your end," the figure said and its white toothed smile became visible through the dark hood.

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Gohan could see the lookout. He was so tired and exhausted that even his instant transmission technique was not working completely. But fortunately he was thrown out of the teleportation when he was near the lookout.

The fragile body of the blue guy whom he was carrying was something not to be worried about. He was as light as feather and was holding on his own. But Gohan was tired and he wanted to reach to the lookout as soon as possible.

"You don't know how much I am missing you right now, Dende," Gohan muttered as he ascended the tower's height, following it up to the lookout. The senzu beans could replenish his energy but not completely. Dende's healing powers were far more affective and practical. It healed every single wound and since Gohan had Saiyan blood running through his veins, he would've become more powerful.

He let out a sigh as the lookout became visible among the clouds. Getting little encouragement from it, Gohan pushed out whatever energy he had left within him as his body experienced a thrust, pushing him and the blue being on his back too whatever distance it could. Fortunately, the demi-saiyan reached over the tiled floor and dropped with a loud thud – unconscious of his surroundings. He never heard or felt a girl running towards him with teary eyes nor the green Namekian Guardian who walked as fast as he could in his old age. Popo was right behind them both.

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Kami couldn't believe what he was seeing. It had been a month since Gohan had returned to the lookout, all bloodied and exhausted. And though the senzu beans had retained a lot of his energy, the near mortal wounds took weeks to be healed on their own. But Kami's shock and surprise wasn't about it. Gohan was being tended continuously by Popo and Korin. The Guardian, however, was looking at the sleeping blue figure in one of the rooms.

What was Lord Whis doing on earth?

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With a painful groan, Gohan opened his eyes. His body shimmered with excruciating pain but he felt a part of his energy had been restored. Looking around the familiar room of the lookout where he was staying with Hermione, his eyes fell on her sleeping figure. She was sitting on a chair, her head resting on the soft mattress of the bed on which Gohan was laying down. Her bushy hair was a mess and he could see marks of dry tears all over her face. But she looked peaceful in her sleep and that gave comfort to the boy.

Hermione woke up, hearing something ruffle beside her. Her head popped up and the next moment saw her eyes looking straight into Gohan's. The said boy smiled but all he could see was anger in those brown eyes.

"What were you thinking?" Hermione screamed.

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It was another week later that Gohan was in some position to walk, although he still needed support. His mind had been almost numb for a whole month feeling nothing but piercing pain he had felt when Merope had tortured him with who knew what. This morning, he received a message from Popo that Kami wanted to see him. Seeing the seriousness in the assistant's eyes, Gohan had nodded and had got up from his bed. His legs wobbled, having been in bed for more than a month. Plus, his saiyan heritage demanded a regular training for him and it was something he hadn't been able to do since his return to the lookout and he could feel it all taking their toll on him. He felt weak – extremely weak.

With Hermione by his side, the girl supporting him, the two entered the throne room to see a pacing Kami. The Guardian's face said something impossible had happened. Stopping his pace, the Namek turned to look at Gohan.

"I am glad that you are awake, Gohan," Kami said. "I know you are hardly in any position to move but this is very important. I hope you'll understand."

"It's no problem, Kami," the boy said with a tired smile on his face as Hermione made him sit in one of the chairs in the room. "What was so important?"

There was a moment's pause before the Guardian took in a deep breath. "How did you come across Lord Whis?" he asked.

"Who?" Gohan asked.

"Lord Whis," Kami repeated himself again, this time a little impatiently. Gohan sensed the Guardian was troubled about something but what?

"Who is Lord Whis?" Gohan asked.

"The one you brought here with yourself," Hermione said.

"That blue man?" Gohan asked.

"Speak with respect, boy!"

Gohan was at once taken aback by this tone of Kami. Never had the boy heard or seen Kami use that tone.

"Sorry," Gohan mumbled.

"It isn't his fault if he doesn't know about him!" Hermione said.

Kami sighed. "I m sorry," the Guardian said slowly. "It's just that not every day you are met by the strongest being in the universe."

This was something that hit Gohan hard. What did Kami meant by saying the strongest in the whole universe?

"What are you talking about?" Gohan asked. "And who is this Lord Whis that I brought with myself?"

"You need to tell me how did you find him?" Kami said.

"I found him in the...cave? I think. It was where Merope kept me as a hostage," Gohan said.

"Merope?" Hermione asked. "She kept you all this long?"

"All this long?" Gohan asked, looking at her.

"You were gone for days!" Hermione said.

Gohan couldn't believe it.

"I sensed Lord Whis' ki the next day after you ran away from the lookout in nothing but blind rage," Kami said. "For once, I was confused as to what Lord Whis was doing here as his duty does not include what he was doing at the moment but then..." he took a shuddered breath, "but then you brought him back here a month ago and..."

"A month?" Gohan asked. When Kami didn't speak, he looked up at Hermione.

"You were out for a whole month, probably more than that," she said.

Gohan couldn't believe this. How could he be out for a whole month? This didn't make any sense.

"as per what I felt from the two of you," Kami said again, Lord Whis had given you some of his ki, only enough for you to get you both back here."

"I do remember my energy coming back when he told me to touch him," Gohan said. "But who is this Lord Whis exactly, Kami?" he asked. "You keep telling that he is a lord or in simple words a god. Of what?"

"You know about Lord Beerus, right?" Kami asked. Gohan nodded his head slightly. "Well, Lord Whis is Lord Beerus' servant...and teacher."

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 **A/N: I am so sorry for his real small chapter but I needed to put one out as I'd promised(yeah, I try to keep my promise so deal with it!). This chapter wasn't planned much. Also, I'd forgotten a lot of things that I had written in the previous chapter and yes, I know it sounds stupid but that's how it is with me.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading...**


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